Putting a roof over their heads
Zambian girls’ school ripped open by wind
Bits of the shattered roof
Since the establishment of the Christian Brothers’ Community in Kabwe in 2003, the Brothers who have been part of this community were either students in Nkrumah College of Education or were on pastoral placement from the formation houses. It is worth noting also that there was no specific ministry for the Brothers living in the community at that time. They did various kinds of ministry, such as visiting the Mother Teresa Hospice or the Street Children’s Centre run by Kara Counselling. Brother Ben Scanlan helped at Angelina Tembo Girls’ Secondary School in the afternoon on a regular basis during the week. Now, the Brothers in Kabwe community are fully involved in this school for girls.
School girls in front of their roofless school
Angelina Tembo Secondary School is situated adjacent to three big shanty compounds in Kabwe town, namely Nakoli, Ngungu, and Bwacha. Since the closure of the mines, which was the town’s main source of employment, most of the residents now have no formal employment which makes it difficult for the families to meet their basic needs like medical care and access to clean water. Due to low levels of education, most children get exposed to various diseases. The school was established, mainly through the efforts of the Little Servants of Mary Immaculate, to get the town’s orphans and vulnerable children into school and to offer counselling as one way of easing the community’s mental stress. Much effort is made to provide the children with a meal in the middle of the day, as a way of keeping them in school and helping them to learn effectively.
Stacking up the remains of the roof
The Christian Brothers have been involved in various ways in sourcing funds for the school’s feeding project as well as for paying school fees and buying books, pens, and other requirements for some of the pupils. Angelina Tembo is a ‘granted-aided school’ with very little support from the government. Though pupils are required to pay a small amount once a year, not everyone can afford to pay. With support from the Catholic Secretariat and other donors, the school management (the Servants of Mary Sisters) do everything possible to ensure that no pupil is sent away from school even if they fail to pay.
On Sunday 14 February 2010, as the world celebrated St Valentine’s Day, a strong wind blew the roof off one of the school’s buildings. It was one of the worst examples I have seen of the destruction that wind can bring about. The challenge now is to find a way to restore the damaged building. The pupils’ families are already overtaxed. The government, when notified of the disaster, did not even visit to see the damage. The school manager, Sister Mirriam Namezi said to me, “Brother, we can’t ask the poor children to pay anything more; we are here for them, and we just have to sacrifice something from somewhere.” I can still hear the voice of one of the pupils saying to me in the morning, “Brother, you can’t abandon us now - stay with us.” It is in situations like this that our call and response to being a sign of hope to the poor is tested to the limit.
Puriey Musunga cfc
Christian Brothers, Kabwe, Zambia
February 2010
If anyone is in a position to assist with the restoration of the school, kindly contact the Christian Brothers at:
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